


Teri's Holiday Avalanche

by Hils



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 20:06:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14480208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/pseuds/Hils
Summary: Nail plans to spend the holiday break alone. The rest of the team has other ideas.





	Teri's Holiday Avalanche

**Author's Note:**

> So, I started writing this in December, but I am apparently very slow. So enjoy a holiday fic posted in April!
> 
> This whole thing came about after I read [a tweet](https://twitter.com/hils_k/status/786891645161705472) about how sad Nail was when he was with the Blues and I wanted him to be happy, so I wrote this.
> 
> Thanks to Syd for the beta.

It’s almost 6am when Nail finally gets home and he can feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones as he tosses his things onto the nearest available surface and heads straight towards his bed. They’ve got a whole three days off starting from today and aside from possibly having a get together with the other Russians he doesn’t have anything else planned. It’s times like this he really misses his dog. They could spend the whole time snuggling on the couch and watching terrible Russian movies. Watching them alone just isn’t the same. 

He allows himself the luxury of not setting an alarm and pulls the covers over his head to block out the minimal amount of sunlight his blinds let in. Spending his time off alone isn’t exactly fun but he’s used to it now and he’s glad of the time to rest and recharge. 

***

From inside his cocoon of blankets he’s vaguely aware of a noise that drags him back into wakefulness. He has no idea how long he’d been asleep for but it doesn’t feel like long enough. After a couple more seconds he’s awake enough to realise that the noise is his phone and he reaches out of his nest of blankets and pulls the phone in with him. 

He winces when the light of the screen hurts his eyes and to his surprise it’s Tyson calling him. On Christmas Eve. Instantly his heart sinks. It must be bad news. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, Teri! Are you busy?”

Tyson sounds far too chipper for it to be bad news and Nail relaxes a little, sinking back into the comfort of his blankets. 

“Is early, Tys.”

He has no idea if it’s actually early or not but it feels early and that’s all that counts. 

“So, listen,” Tyson continues apparently not caring that he’d woken Nail up on his first day off. “Nate and I are doing some grocery shopping for a little party we’re having tonight and we could really use an extra pair of hands. Any chance you could meet us? Please?”

Nail lets out a low groan and buries his head deeper under the covers. Tyson’s fighting dirty. Nail always tries to be a good friend to his teammates, to help them out whenever they need it, with whatever they need. It’s something his mama had taught him from when he was very young, to always be kind and to help others whenever you can. Tyson’s sad little ‘please’ has pretty much guaranteed that Nail will drop whatever he’s doing to go and help, and he’s pretty sure Tyson knows that. 

“Text me address,” Nail sighs, tossing back the covers and mourning the loss of his cocoon of warmth. “Just need to shower first.”

He’s only been in Denver for a few months and he knows his way around his own neighbourhood and the areas around Pepsi Centre and Family Sports but that’s about it. He still has to use his GPS when he goes to visit Mikko or any of the other guys.

“Great, thanks. By the way, you have to tell Nate that I’m allowed to buy donuts. It’s Christmas.”

Nail hears Nate’s outraged squawk in the background just as Tyson hangs up.

He stares at his phone for a moment. Somehow his day his plans have gone from spending the day in bed to spending the day stuck in the middle of Tyson and Nate bickering about groceries. 

Well, it beats being at home alone, Nail supposes.

***

It doesn’t take him long to find them in the store. He can hear Nate’s loud laughter almost as soon as he walks through the door and he finds himself smiling at the sound of it. Well, at least they’re not trying to murder each other. Grocery shopping isn’t what he had in mind for his time off, but it’s always nice to see the guys outside of the rink.

He rounds a corner and finds Nate and Tyson standing with a cart half full near the baked goods.

“Hey, Yaky,” Nate says as he struggles to catch his breath. “Tys doesn’t understand why Gabe won’t trust him to buy the food for the party.”

Nate’s cheeks are pink from where he’s been laughing and Tyson has an offended scowl on his face. “Everyone likes donuts! You like donuts, right, Teri?”

Nail freezes. Every instinct telling him to not answer and just run. When he arrived in Denver he learned fast that one place you don’t want to be is caught in the middle of one of Nate and Tyson’s little arguments. They’re never about anything serious, but they alway expect everyone to take sides. If you choose a side, the other one won’t speak to you for the rest of the day, if you refuse to choose a side neither of them will speak to you. Nail wonders if it’s too late to just turn around and go home. 

“Uh...sure?” he ventures hesitantly. It’s not a crime to like donuts, right? Except now Nate is frowning at him. 

“I _know_ everyone likes donuts,” Nate fires back at Tyson. “But they’re not on the list. This is why Gabe gave me the list and said ‘don’t deviate from the list no matter what pathetic faces Tyson pulls’.”

“Which is just hurtful,” Tyson mutters under his breath. 

“So…” This is actually kind of awkward. Apparently he’s chosen a side without even meaning to do it. “Did you need help with something?”

“Yeah,” Nate says and folds his list in half, tearing it neatly down the middle. “We’re going to be here forever the way this is going. I need you to be in charge of Tyson’s half of the list and make sure he only picks up what Gabe has written down.”

“Hey!” Tyson protests. “I didn’t call him here to be my babysitter.”

Nate shrugs. “Well, you need one.”

He hands the list to Nail. “I’ll meet you guys at the car in twenty minutes.”

It’s clear from his tone of voice that the twenty minutes is non-negotiable and Nail feels more than a little scared now. He really should have just stayed home in bed. 

Tyson smiles brightly at Nail and, as soon as Nate has disappeared around the corner, he drops the box of donuts into the cart. 

Nail puts on what he thinks is a stern frown but judging by the way Tyson is just grinning at him he’s clearly not doing a very good job of it. 

“They’re for Gabe,” Tyson protests when Nail reaches to remove the offending box. “Honestly, he’ll thank me later!”

Nail is pretty sure that isn’t remotely true, but then again he hasn’t been on the team long enough to know what Gabe’s secret thoughts on donuts are. 

He withdraws his hand from the cart and shrugs. “If anyone gets mad at me I’m going to tell them it’s your fault.”

Tyson grins and slaps him on the back. “I knew there was a reason I liked you, Teri.”

As they work down the list Tyson is surprisingly well behaved and doesn’t try to add any other secret items. Maybe he’s scared of Nate too. Tyson’s actually unusually quiet and as they’re walking around the store Nail can feel Tyson’s eyes on him, although he always looks away when Nail tries to catch him staring. 

“Is everything all right?” Nail finally asks as Tyson loads a variety of cheeses into the cart. 

For a split second Tyson looks like a startled animal. Then his cheeks flush red. Once thing Nail learned pretty fast is that Tyson is terrible at hiding how he’s really feeling. 

“Yeah, fine,” Tyson finally stammers. “Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”

Nail shrugs. “You keep staring at me.”

Suddenly a thought enters his head. Maybe Tyson knows something that Nail doesn’t. After all inviting him to help with grocery shopping is a pretty lame excuse to spend time with him especially while they’re meant to be on vacation.

“Tys,” Nail says carefully while Tyson examines a box of crackers with way more scrutiny than necessary. “If you need to tell me something you can just tell me. Am I getting traded?”

“What? No! Why would you think that?”

Nail shrugs. “It happens, and you’re being weird.”

Tyson throws the box of crackers into the cart. “You’re not getting traded, Teri. Even if you were that’s not something you tell someone in the middle of a grocery store. I was just thinking we should hang out more. Off the ice, I mean.”

Nail frowns. That really wasn’t where he expected this conversation to go. At all. 

It’s not that Nail doesn’t like Tyson. He does. He likes pretty much everyone on the team, really, and they have a lot of fun on the ice and when they’re travelling. But he knows how it is. A lot of the guys have families or long-established friendship groups so of course they’re not going to spend time together when they’re not working. Gabe is a good captain, of course, and has him over for dinner sometimes. He spends time with the other Russians but that’s more of a familiarity thing, and then there’s Mikko. But his thing with Mikko is complicated. 

He’s not really sure why Tyson suddenly wants to spend time with him but maybe it’s not a bad thing. “I mean, if you want to…”

“I do,” Tyson replies firmly and that seems to be the end of it. The weird staring stops and they pick up the rest of the items on Gabe’s list without incident, making it back to the car with a couple of minutes to spare.

“Teri and I are going to hang out more,” Tyson announces as they start loading things into the car. He sounds almost proud, and it’s back to being weird again. 

Nail glances at Nate, because Nate has to think this is weird too, right? But Nate’s face lights up with a smile and he claps Nail on the shoulder.

“Yeah? That’s awesome! I’ll cook you guys dinner some time.”

Nail looks at Nate, and then back at Tyson. Both of them have these happy smiles on their faces and suddenly it becomes clear just what’s happening here. Tyson wasn’t just asking him to hang out, he was asking him out. And Nate has apparently now given them his blessing. 

This was not at all how Nail had imagined the first day of his vacation going. He’s flattered, of course. Tyson is cute and funny. Nail had sort of assumed that he and Gabe were a thing but he had clearly been mistaken. If he didn’t have his whole complicated thing with Mikko he might have considered dating Tyson but as it is he just can’t. 

Nate and Tyson have resumed loading the car and it probably wouldn’t be polite to reject Tyson in front of his best friend. Nail will talk to him privately after the holidays. 

“Do you need me for anything else?”

Nate and Tyson have finished loading the car now and are looking over the pieces of Gabe’s list, presumably to make sure they haven’t missed anything.

“No, we’re good. Thanks for coming to help out.”

He gives them both a quick hug. “See you in a few days. Enjoy the holidays and have fun at your party tonight.”

Nate and Tyson have still got those weird smiles on their faces and it’s kind of starting to feel creepy. He gives them both a nod and heads back to his car. Once he’s inside he contemplates calling Mikko. He’s already out and it seems like a waste to just go home and spend the day alone now that he’s out of bed. 

He picks up his phone and almost drops it when it rings in his hand before he’s even found Mikko’s number. 

It’s Josty which is weird because he doesn’t think Josty has ever called him before. 

He answers. “Is this some kind of Tyson conspiracy?”

He’s only half kidding at this point.

There’s silence at the other end of the line for a moment and then an unsure “Yak?”

He sighs. “Hi Josty. What’s up?”

It’s quiet again for a second and then he hears Josty sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry to bother you but we’ve decided to decorate the house for the holidays and I have no idea if what I’ve picked looks good. Kerfy says it’s fine but I could use another opinion if you’re in the area.”

The words come out in a rush and it takes him a second to figure out exactly what it is Josty is asking him to do. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. He’s starting to get a headache. 

“Josty you know I’d help you with anything but I don’t know I’m the best person for this. Have you tried calling Mikko?”

“I did and he told me to call you. Please? I don’t want the first holiday in our new apartment to look terrible.”

Nail sighs again. This is definitely very different to when he’d been with the Blues and was quite often alone during breaks.

“Okay. Text me address.”

***  
The store Josty’s in isn’t too far from the grocery so it doesn’t take Nail long to get there. He finds Josty lurking near the entrance, cart loaded full of decorations. He flashes Nail an apologetic smile when he spots him 

“Thanks for coming, Yak. I’m sorry for calling you. I didn’t want to, but…” he gestures helplessly at the cart. 

Nail had been surprised when Josty had first told him he was colorblind, just because he’d never met anyone who was before. Josty had been happy to answer any questions, and had explained it wasn’t all colors he couldn’t see. Just reds and greens. 

His eyes turn to Josty’s cart. Nearly everything he’s chosen is red or green. 

“Does this stuff look okay?” Josty asks. “Kerfy was here but then he said he needed to step out for something. Usually I ask my mom about this sort of stuff but she’s busy with family.”

Nail gives Josty’s shoulder a squeeze. He knows how hard it is being away from family, especially when you’re young. He misses his mom a lot but he’s at least had a few years to get used to being so far away from home. 

He pokes through the contents of Josty’s cart. He might not celebrate Christmas but he sees enough of it around to at least know the basics of what Christmas decorations should look like.

“Come with me.” Nail says and leads Josty down one of the aisles. 

He can’t do much about the green tree but the rest he can help with. They stand in front of the tree decorations which span half the story and there’s still a lot left surprisingly considering it’s Christmas Eve.

“Which colors can you see?”

Josty hesitates. “I thought I’d picked red stuff.”

“You did, but it’s your apartment. You should choose colors you can enjoy too.”

Josty still doesn’t look convinced. “Red is the Christmas color though.”

They make a pair. A colorblind kid and a Muslim man shopping for Christmas decorations on Christmas Eve. It’s like the setup to a bad joke.

“It’s tradition, yes. But you can make your own traditions. Can make Christmas orange if you want.”

Josty grimaces but then reaches for the gold baubles. “I like these.”

After that it’s easy to replace the red decorations with gold and some silver and by the time they’re ready to pay Josty has a smile on his face. 

“Oh, hey, there you are!” Kerfy and JT are both waiting by the registers and Kerfy smiles when he sees them. “JT stopped by on his way back from the grocery store to see if we needed help. I told him you had it covered.”

“We do,” Josty says and gestures to the full cart. “The apartment is going to look great.”

Something on a stand catches Nail’s attention out of the corner of his eye and he grins. “Need one more thing.”

The foam reindeer antlers on a headband are covered in glitter and look utterly ridiculous. Of course he has to get them.

Josty’s eyes light up when Nail puts them in the cart and he instantly fishes one out and puts it on JT’s head. He steps back to admire his handiwork and collapses laughing. 

JT’s cheek flush red but he’s grinning happily as Josty leans against him and tries to catch his breath.

Kerfy rolls his eyes and mutters something unintelligible under his breath but he has a fond smile as JT strokes Josty’s back while he continues to giggle. 

Nail looks at Josty, then at JT, then back at Josty again.

“Huh.”

Well, if there’s something going on between the two of them it’s none of his business. They look happy. 

“Are you guys good now?”

Josty has recovered enough to nod his head and pull Nail into a hug. “Thanks, Yak. You’re a really decent guy. I hope you enjoy the holidays.”

Nail pats him on the back. “You too. See you after the break.”

He heads back to his car and takes a moment to just sit there. It’s been a strange day. He’s still thinking about the fact that Tyson sort of asked him out on a date. He’s going to have to figure out a way to fix that, but it can wait until after the holidays. Instead he fires off a text to Mikko.

_You busy? Mind if I come over?_

_Sure thing_

***

He doesn’t know what it is but there’s something about being around Mikko that instantly relaxes Nail. Going to his place almost feels like going home and as soon as he steps through the door his heart feels lighter. 

“Is Anton home?” He asks as they head into the living room. He likes Lindholm, but he prefers it when it’s just the two of them.

“No, he went out. Do you want a drink? I can make some tea.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks.”

Nail settles himself on the couch and closes his eyes, just enjoying the sounds of Mikko clattering around in the kitchen.

“Put something on the TV if you want.” Mikko calls over the sound of the water boiling. 

Unsurprisingly there’s Christmas on just about every channel so Nail settles on one of the shopping channels. It’s too late to buy things for Christmas so it’s as close as he can get to something regular. 

Mikko sets the tea down next to him and then sits down on the couch next to him.

“Do you want to stay for dinner? I don’t feel like cooking but we could go out?”

Honestly now that he’s out he really doesn’t want to go back to his empty apartment but he also really doesn’t want to go back out either. Helping everyone with the shopping crises has really worn him out.

“Takeout?”

That’s probably a bit of a shitty way for Mikko to spend Christmas Eve, but Nail honestly doesn’t have the energy to do anything else. Maybe he should just go home. He really doesn’t want to ruin Mikko’s evening. 

He sighs and gulps down his tea, which was dumb because it’s still too hot and burns as it goes down. 

“Actually, I think I should go. Sorry.”

He starts to move but stills when he feels the warmth of Mikko’s hand on his leg. 

“No, stay. Please?”

He really needs to get better at being able to say no to people, but he can’t, especially not Mikko. 

“Okay. Sorry, it’s been a strange day.”

He can feel Mikko’s hand stroking his leg, offering comfort rather than anything sexual. 

“It’s okay,” Mikko says. “Just don’t go. I don’t want to be alone and I know Christmas isn’t your thing but it’s the holidays and I don’t want you to be alone either. How about we get takeout and find a game to watch.”

Spending time with Mikko is all Nail really wants. He doesn’t actually care what they do.

“Sure, that sounds nice.”

They decide on Chinese and Mikko heads into the kitchen to call in the order and make some more tea. Nail turns his attention back to the shopping channel where they are currently demonstrating a weird device that will apparently revolutionise how you cut a banana. He’s not exactly sure what’s wrong with a knife.

“Should be here soon,” Mikko says when he wanders back in from the kitchen and flops down next to Nail’s feet. “Why are you watching this?”

Nail shrugs. “I don’t know but look you can buy shoes with little umbrellas to stop feet getting wet.”

By the time someone knocks at the door with their food delivery they are both howling with laughter as the presenter earnestly tries to convince the viewers that what they really need in their bathroom is a soap dispenser shaped like a human nose. 

Mikko disappears to get the food and Nail tries not to think about how the room suddenly feels just that little bit colder without him in it. He tries to focus on the TV but they’ve moved onto watches now, which is kind of boring. 

He hears muffled voices in the hallway and sits up, intending to head into the kitchen to get plates for their meal. 

“Anyway, it’s not my fault Gabe is an asshole. Who even knew he was good at video games? I thought he just spent all his time eating health food and walking his dog.”

Nail frowns. That is most definitely not the voice of a delivery guy.

Tyson walks in, still talking to Mikko over his shoulder and carrying their takeout. He stops short when he spots Nail on the couch. 

“Oh, hey Teri, I didn’t know you were here. I just came to borrow Mikko.”

Nail looks at Tyson, then at Mikko who is doing his best to look innocent and failing miserably. Something weird is going on here. Again. 

“You want to borrow Mikko? On Christmas Eve?”

Tyson laughs nervously. “Yeah, it’s this whole embarrassing thing. I wouldn’t have come over if I’d known you were here but I need someone to help me make an idiot out of myself for the internet.”

Okay, Nail is curious now. He sits up and switches off the TV. “What?”

Tyson takes a deep breath. “So, I made this bet with Gabe that I could beat him at Mario Kart. If I won he had to shave his hair off, if he won I had to do a lap at the rink in my underwear and then take a photo at centre ice.”

That does sound like the sort of stupid thing Gabe and Tyson would do and Nail can’t stop himself from smiling. These guys are idiots but he’s glad to call them his friends. 

“And you need Mikko because…?”

Tyson shrugs. “Turns out Gabe is come kind of gaming shark. He’s been secretly practicing or something. No way he could have beaten me without help. Anyway, he’s insisting I uphold the bet tonight. Something about it being an additional Christmas gift, and he wants witnesses. Nate’s in, of course, and I thought Mikko would be free.”

Mikko cracks up. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this. You’ll come too, right Nail?”

He still can’t shake the feelings that there’s something else going on here. Tyson showing up just a few hours after asking him out can’t be a coincidence. But spending time watching his teammates make fools out of themselves is too good to pass on. 

“Yeah, sure.”

Tyson grins. “Well, it’s nice that my impending humiliation is enough to get you out of the house on the first day of our holidays. Come on, I said we’d pick Gabe up on the way back.”

Mikko puts the takeout in the fridge for them to have when they get back. 

Nail still isn’t sure what’s happening but he grabs his coat. Only one way to find out, he supposes.

***

The house is in darkness when they arrive and from the outside it doesn’t look like anyone is home. Nail frowns.

“Are you sure he’s home?” He says dubiously from the back seat. “Maybe he wanted to meet us at the rink.”

Tyson looks confused too “Come on, let’s see if he’s in. If not I’ll call him.”

He’s not really sure why they all need to go and see if Gabe is home. He’d rather stay in the car and talk to Mikko, honestly. But they all file out and head to Gabe’s front door.

Tyson tries the handle and the door opens. 

“I guess Gabe’s home, Teri!” Tyson all but yells as they head inside.

“Why are you talking so loud-”

“SURPRISE!”

Nail stumbles backwards into Mikko as the lights suddenly switch on and he’s momentarily blinded. When his vision clears he’s presented with the sight of a lot of the guys from the team, all dressed in ugly sweaters and grinning at him. He spots JT and Josty, wearing the silly glitter antlers he’d helped them buy earlier. Now that he thinks about it some of the decorations in Gabe’s house look kind of familiar too. 

“What is this?” he whispers to Mikko who is still holding onto him.

“It’s for you,” Mikko replies.

Tyson turns and has the biggest grin on his face it’s almost scary. “We didn’t want you spending the holidays alone. I know Christmas isn’t your thing so this is a totally non denominational holiday party.”

“For me?” Nail repeats, suddenly feeling really dumb. “But why?”

“Ask Gabe,” Tyson says with a wave of his hand. “It was his idea.”

Everyone is still staring at him with smiles on their faces and, honestly, it’s making him pretty uncomfortable. 

“You okay?” Mikko murmurs and Nail suddenly aware he’s still got his back pressed against Mikko’s chest. 

“Come on,” Tyson says, latching onto his arm before he can answer Mikko. “Let’s go and find Gabe.”

They find him lurking near the food table and he pulls Nail into a tight hug as soon as he spots them. 

“I don’t understand,” Nail says when Gabe finally lets him go. “What’s all this?”

“I just wanted you to know that for as long as you’re with the team you’re part of our family.”

“Okay?”

“It’s just… guess what I mean is I know it sucks how much ice time you’ve been getting and how often you get scratched. I just wanted you to know that no matter what Coach says we all appreciate you.”

That’s, actually really touching. Nail has got used to Coach telling him he’s not trying hard enough and that he needs to do better. All he can do is try harder.

“I...thank you.”

Tyson claps him on the back again. “You’re a good guy, Teri. We’re lucky to have you. Now I need to go and sort out the music for this party.”

“Oh,” Gabe says with a nervous laugh. “I put EJ in charge of the music.”

“WHAT?” Tyson’s face turns an alarming shade of red. 

“He needed something to do and you were out.”

“You can’t put someone in charge of music who things ABBA is a person!”

Before Gabe can answer Cotton Eye Joe starts blasting from the speakers and half the room starts staring at Tyson as though it’s somehow his fault.

“I’m taking over,” he mutters before shooting Gabe one final glare and disappearing into the crowd. 

Gabe sighs. “I’m probably going to be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“It’s your house,” Mikko points out.

“You think that matters? Don’t worry about it. I’ll smooth things over with him. Go and enjoy the party.”

“Wait,” Nail says. “Just to be clear. You and Tyson are a couple?”

“Yeah. I thought you knew that. I thought everyone knew that. Why?”

“It’s just he was acting really weird this morning and then he said he wanted to spend more time with me. I thought he was asking me out.”

Gabe looks confused for a moment and then rolls his eyes. “He is such an idiot. When we were planning this party a few of the guys said they wanted to hang out with you more. You know, so you didn’t feel too lonely. Trust Tyson to mess up being nice.”

Nail laughs. “It’s not his fault. Just a misunderstanding. It’s sweet that he wanted to hang out. Although maybe next time we can do something a bit more fun than grocery shopping for my own surprise party. Was Josty in on this too?”

“Sorry,” Gabe grins. “I’ll pass on the message.”

“Come on,” Mikko says and takes his arm. “There’s alcohol free punch. I helped make it.”

He presses a cup into Nail’s hand. “What did you say when Tyson asked you out. Or, didn’t ask you out, I guess.”

Nail shrugs. “At first I thought he was just being nice. Then when I thought it was something else I was going to say no. I like Tyson, but not in that way.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good.”

There’s no mistaking the relieved smile on Mikko’s face. They really need to sit down and have a conversation about whatever this thing is between them. 

Mikko steers him around the room to say hi to everyone. It still feels a little overwhelming but everyone is smiling and people keep hugging him. It’s nice. 

JT and Josty are too busy making out under some mistletoe to notice them but that’s fine. Nail is glad that they’re happy.

By the time they’ve said hello to everyone, and he’s been hugged so many time he’s lost count, he’s pretty exhausted. 

“There’s space on the couch,” Mikko says, apparently sensing this without him having to say anything. “Let’s go and sit down.”

Nate and Kerfy are deep in conversation when Nail slumps down next to them. Mikko takes the armchair next to the couch and Nail feels the loss of contact almost immediately. 

“Do Josty and Comphs do that thing where they invite you out for lunch and then spend the whole time just staring at each other?” Nate asks Kerfy. “Gabe and Tyson do that all the time!”

“YES! It’s so annoying. Like, if you want to go on a date just go. Don’t drag me along and then just ignore me. Or, like, they’ll invite me over for a movie and then spend the whole time making out on the couch. We watched Justice League last week and if you ask either of them what the plot was they won’t be able to tell you because they were too busy being all over each other.”

Nate lets out a sympathetic groan. “You know, next time you want a lunch date or to watch a movie give me a call. I promise I will actually pay attention.”

“Thanks, man. Same to you.”

They fist bump and then get up in search of more drinks. Mikko takes the opportunity to switch seats and settle down next to him. That feels better, having Mikko’s warmth against him even though there’s plenty of space on the couch. 

“Are you enjoying the party?” Mikko asks. “Gabe wasn’t sure if you’d like it or not.”

Nail shifts his weight so he’s a little more comfortable, and if that means he’s pressed against Mikko some more he’s not going to object. 

“It’s nice,” Nail finally says. “I don’t know why everyone would want to do this for me, though. Especially on Christmas Eve.”

Mikko shrugs. “Lot of us are far away from family but we have each other. They like you, you know. This isn’t just Gabe trying to be a good captain.”

Honestly, Nail still doesn’t know what to do with this whole thing. He tries to be a good teammate and to make friends on whatever team he’s playing for but this is the first time anyone has gone out of their way to welcome and include him. He can feel tears stinging at his eyes and quickly blinks them away. 

“How do you celebrate Christmas in Finland?” He’s desperate for a distraction.

“Well,” Mikko says and just in that one word Nail can hear the warmth in his voice. “We do most of our celebrating on Christmas Eve. Usually the first thing we do is go out and buy a Christmas tree.”

The deep rumble of Mikko’s voice is so soothing that Nail finds his eyes drifting closed. He doesn’t intend to fall asleep but somewhere along the way he drifts off. 

***

“HEY TERI!”

He starts awake with a jolt, feeling bleary and disoriented. For a second he panics, thinking he’s overslept and missed practice.

“Shut up,” Gabe hisses. “I told you not to wake him up.”

“His back will thank me for it later.”

When his heart rate has slowed down to something approaching normal he sees Gabe and Tyson standing in front of him. Tyson is rubbing his arm and glaring at Gabe who looks apologetic. 

“Sorry,” Gabe says. “I was happy to let you sleep but Tyson had other ideas. You guys are welcome to crash here. We’ve got a guest room upstairs.”

Nail rubs a hand over his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

For a second he wonders where Mikko is and then he feels a hand stroking the hair at the nape of his neck. 

“Thanks,” Mikko says and Nail really doesn’t want to move in case the petting stops. “We’ll stay.”

“Sure thing,” Tyson replies with a beaming smile. “There’s only one bed so you’ll have to share, or whatever.”

Gabe elbows him in the side. “There’s blankets in the closet in the spare room if one of you wants to take the couch.”

Nail notices he says if. 

“Right, we’re going to bed. Don’t worry about cleaning up. We’ll sort it out in the morning.”

Gabe takes Tyson by the arm and practically drags him out of the room. 

Mikko’s hand stills on his neck. “Do you want me to take the couch?”

They’ve been dancing around this for so long that now that they’re here Nail honestly isn’t sure what to say. 

“No,” he finally admits. 

“Are you going to take the couch instead?” Mikko asks, apparently wanting to make sure that they’re both on the same page. 

“No,” Nail replies again and sits up, turning to face Mikko. Mikko still looks a little uncertain but there is a smile on his face, a hopeful smile and all of a sudden Nail wonders why it’s taken them this long to do this. 

He closes the distance between them, placing his lips over Mikko’s and kissing him softly. Mikko immediately deepens the kiss, pushing Nail back into the couch and climbing over so that he’s straddling him. 

“We should go upstairs,” Nail whispers between kisses even though moving is absolutely the last thing he wants to do. Fucking on someone else’s couch is just impolite though. 

“Okay,” Mikko says and climbs off him. Nail almost whimpers at the loss of contact. 

Mikko extends a hand and pulls Nail to his feet and together they head upstairs, hand in hand. 

***

“Stop listening,” Gabe hisses, jolting Tyson with his elbow. He’s going to have a bruise there, he’s sure of it, and he’ll show everyone and tell them how badly his captain treats him. Not that anyone will give him any sympathy. They all like Gabe better than him. It sucks. 

“I can’t help it,” Tyson hisses back. “They’re not exactly being quiet. This is your fault anyway. You told them they could stay.”

“You said, and I quote, ‘they’ve been pining over each other since Teri joined the team. Someone should do something about that’.”

“Well, put some music on or something.”

Gabe reaches for his phone and a few seconds later Last Christmas starts playing.

“Oh my god,” Tyson moans unhappily. “You just Wham’d me right before Christmas.”

Gabe pets his arm. “It’s past midnight. You’re safe.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still going to associate Christmas with hearing two of my friends having sex. Thanks for ruining it for me, Gabriel.”

Gabe sighs. “Fine, fine. I’ll change it.”

When the Backstreet Boys starts playing Tyson gives up and throws a pillow at Gabe’s head.

“I hate you.”

“Merry Christmas, Tyson.”

THE END!


End file.
